NCAA WILL DISCUSS NEW MODEL FOR DIV. I
ATHLETICS

Increasing profits create huge divide

The NCAA’s current governance model was created in the 1990s to make sure member institutions were treated equally.

Now that there’s a bigger gap between the top and the bottom, it may be time to change.

Speaking at the Final Four, NCAA President Mark Emmert said he has suggested to university presidents the creation of a committee to look at the possibility of changing the governance model to address the disparity between Division I schools and the rest of the membership.

“The diversity of institutions in Division I has grown, the relative diversity of their economic bases has grown, so it’s been increasingly difficult to create rules that fit everybody and everybody’s happy with and get a consensus around those things,” Emmert said Thursday.

When the current model was created, it was designed to encompass every level of collegiate athletics, from the large Division I powerhouses to schools that don’t have football programs.

But as college football and basketball have increased in popularity, Division I universities have seen dramatic revenue gains, earning millions of dollars more than smaller institutions. The gap between the top and the bottom has widened, substantially.

With all that extra money has come added potential for rules violations, not to mention issues that had never come up before. While the NCAA has done its best to keep up with current enforcement and look for ways to prevent further attempts to skirt the rules, many of the issues aren’t relevant to smaller schools.

Three Tar Heels leaving

North Carolina underclassmen Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Kendall Marshall will enter the NBA draft, the school said.

The school didn’t state whether the three planned to hire an agent in its release announcing the departures, though it appears the three are in the draft to stay.

Barnes, Henson and senior Tyler Zeller put off entering the draft last year for another shot at a championship despite being likely first-round picks.

Around the nation

Kentucky forward Anthony Davis says his left knee is feeling better but still not completely healthy after he banged into a Baylor player in the South Regional finals in Atlanta.

• The University of Tulsa officially announced Danny Manning, an assistant at Final Four participant Kansas, as its next head coach.

• Former Wake Forest and Xavier assistant Pat Kelsey is Winthrop’s new coach. He replaces Randy Peele, who was let go earlier this month after the team’s second straight losing season.